Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson missed his third consecutive game Tuesday night because of a fractured rib. He also wasn't on the floor with the team Monday, when it reconvened after the all-star break, or at the Tuesday shootaround, and his return doesn't seem imminent.

"He says he's feeling better," Denver coach Brian Shaw said. "He's moving around a lot better, but he's still tender to the touch. ... So there's no timetable, other than the fact that he's saying he's feeling better."

Shaw on practicing. After participating in some of the practice work Monday to give the Nuggets 10 "players," Shaw said he wasn't suffering any ill effects and joked that he could play a few minutes if necessary.

"I know to pace myself and to stay away from things I can't do," he said. "I would definitely stay out of the paint, stay on the outside and try to make timely passes to the guys when they're open. I'd have to do a lot of switching on defense because I don't think I could fight and get over the screens."

Suns hurting too. Phoenix came in with a surprising 30-21 record, compiled without having Emeka Okafor (herniated disc) all season and starting point guard Eric Bledsoe (arthroscopic knee surgery) since Jan. 2.

"I would say record-wise that I don't know if anyone would have thought we would be at this (record), but we thought we would be good," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. "We play hard. We play together as a team. We've got great players, and we thought we could surprise some teams."

Bledsoe, averaging 18.0 points and 5.8 assists for the Suns, began shooting and moving on the practice floor Monday.

Box office. Despite the Nuggets' struggles this season, attendance has held up surprisingly well. Going into Tuesday night's game, Denver was 16th in the league in home attendance, averaging 17,192. The season average a year ago was 17,819, ranking 14th.

The Nuggets also are continuing to outdraw the surprising Avalanche (15,894).

Miller remains absent. On Monday, Shaw had indicated he was "really getting tired" of answering questions about Andre Miller. On Tuesday before the game, though, Shaw mentioned Miller without being asked about him — when again explaining why the Nuggets' 15 roster spots were filled and included Miller, leaving the team with no flexibility to bring anyone else in minus a trade or shedding a contract. But nothing had changed, with Miller waiting to see if he's traded before the Thursday deadline.

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